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American Sociological Association: Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline
http://www.asanet.org/funding/fad.cfm

Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline

- Two Deadlines Each Year -Proposals Are Due June 15 or December 15 of each year

Program AnnouncementThe American Sociological Association invites submissions for the Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline (FAD) awards. Supported by the American Sociological Association through a matching grant from the National Science Foundation, the goal of this project is to nurture the development of scientific knowledge by funding small, groundbreaking research initiatives and other important scientific research activities such as conferences. FAD awards provide scholars with “seed money&rdquo for innovative research that has the potential for challenging the discipline, stimulating new lines of research, and creating new networks of scientific collaboration. The award is intended to provide opportunities for substantive and methodological breakthroughs, broaden the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and provide leverage for acquisition of additional research funds.

Selection CriteriaProposals are reviewed for scientific merit and the importance of the proposed research project. Within this context, specific evaluation criteria include the following elements:

* Innovativeness and promise of the research. * The potential of the study as a building block in the development of future research. * Appropriateness and significance of the research hypothesis. * Feasibility and adequacy of project design. * Plans for analysis of data. * Plans for dissemination of results. * Appropriateness of requested budget. * Conference proposals should include a discussion of activities that will lead to networking, new paradigms, and dissemination.

Principal investigators (PI) and co-PI(s) must have a PhD or equivalent.

While ASA membership is not a criterion for applying or being selected for this award, if and when this award is received, the recipient must be a current ASA member. ASA membership involves acceptance of and adherence to the ASA Code of Ethics, which is critical to the implementation of the funded project. Awardees must also provide documentation of pertinent IRB approval for the project.

Preference is given to applicants who have not previously received a FAD award. The selection committee consists of six members of the ASA Council and the ASA Director of Research.

FundingThe amount of each award shall not exceed $7,000. Payment is not taxed and goes directly to the principal investigator unless other arrangements are made. Checks will be sent to the PI’s institution, but PIs should be aware that no overhead can be charged. Award money may not be used for convention expenses, honoraria, or PI’s salary. Awardees must agree to meet the reporting requirements of the award.

Awardees are encouraged to continue the tradition of donating to FAD any royalty income derived from projects supported by the grant.

NEW! ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be received online by June 15 for awards to be reviewed in the summer cycle, and by December 15 for awards to be reviewed in the winter. The online application should be completed with the following information:

* Project title, name and institutional affiliation of lead and additional author(s); * 100 to 200 word abstract of the research/conference topic. * Maximum of 5 single spaced pages describing the project (excluding appendices). * Detailed budget and time schedule. * Statement of other pending support. * Bibliography; and * Vitas for all authors.

Recent WinnersRecently funded research and conference proposals included a broad array of topics and methods from the practice of corporate social responsibility to religion and party affiliations’ effects on abortion votes and from collaborative research with prison inmates to social psychological experiments. For brief descriptions of recent award winning projects, see the April 2008, January 2008, May/June 2007, and December 2006 issues of ASA's Footnotes newsletter.

Please submit applications online [above].

Prior to submitting the proposal, please feel free to phone or e-mail project director Roberta Spalter-Roth at 202-383-9005 x317, spalter-roth@asanet.org or Nicole Van Vooren at 202-383-9005 x313, vanvooren@asanet.org. Applicants are required to notify ASA if other funding is received for the project.

Apply Online

The American Sociological Association invites submissions for the Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline (FAD) awards. Supported by the American Sociological Association through a matching grant from the National Science Foundation, the goal of this project is to nurture the development of scientific knowledge by funding small, groundbreaking research initiatives and other important scientific research activities such as conferences. FAD awards provide scholars with “seed money" for innovative research that has the potential for challenging the discipline, stimulating new lines of research, and creating new networks of scientific collaboration. The award is intended to provide opportunities for substantive and methodological breakthroughs, broaden the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and provide leverage for acquisition of additional research funds. View the FAD webpage for more information about the program and application process, and to view current and past award recipients.

Selection Criteria

Proposals are reviewed for scientific merit and the importance of the proposed research project. Within this context, specific evaluation criteria include the following elements:

Innovativeness and promise of the research.

The potential of the study as a building block in the development of future research.

Appropriateness and significance of the research hypothesis.

Feasibility and adequacy of project design.

Plans for analysis of data.

Plans for dissemination of results.

Appropriateness of requested budget.

Conference proposals should include a discussion of activities that will lead to networking, new paradigms, and dissemination.

Principal investigators (PI) and co-PI(s) must have a PhD or equivalent.

While ASA membership is not a criterion for applying or being selected for this award, if and when this award is received, the recipient must be a current ASA member. ASA membership involves acceptance of and adherence to the ASA Code of Ethics, which is critical to the implementation of the funded project. Awardees must also provide documentation of pertinent IRB approval for the project.

Preference is given to applicants who have not previously received a FAD award. The selection committee consists of six members of the ASA Council and the ASA Director of Research.

Funding

The amount of each award shall not exceed $7,000. Payment goes directly to the principal investigator unless other arrangements are made and may be taxable. Checks will be sent to the PI’s institution, but PIs should be aware that no overhead can be charged. Award money may not be used for ASA convention expenses, honoraria, or PI’s salary, which includes buying out of courses. Budgets that include purchases of laptop computers or other hardware will be carefully reviewed. The most frequent use of FAD money is to fund research assistants. Awardees must agree to meet the reporting requirements of the award.

Notification of funding for the June 15th round will be sent in early September and checks will be disbursed mid October. For the December 15th round, applicants will be notified of funding in early March and checks will be disbursed in mid April.

Awardees are encouraged to continue the tradition of donating to FAD any royalty income derived from projects supported by the grant.

ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be received online by midnight EST* on June 15 for awards to be reviewed in the summer cycle, and by December 15 for awards to be reviewed in the winter. To complete the online application, the following information is required and all documents must be uploaded in PDF format:

Project title, name and institutional affiliation of lead and additional author(s);

100 to 200 word abstract of the research/conference topic.

Maximum of 5 single spaced pages describing the project (excluding appendices). Must be at least 11 pt font with 1 inch margins.

*Please note, applications will be accepted until midnight on these dates, but ASA staff will be available to troubleshoot and respond to questions until 5:00pm EST.

Recent Winners

Recently funded research and conference proposals included a broad array of topics and methods from the practice of corporate social responsibility to religion and party affiliations’ effects on abortion votes and from collaborative research with prison inmates to social psychological experiments. For brief descriptions of recent award winning projects, see the May/June 2010, February 2010, May/June 2009, January 2009, May/June 2008, and January 2008 issues of ASA's Footnotes newsletter.

Prior to submitting the proposal, please feel free to phone or e-mail project director John Curtis at 202-383-9005 x317, jcurtis@asanet.org or Nicole Van Vooren at 202-383-9005 x313, vanvooren@asanet.org. Applicants are required to notify ASA if other funding is received for the project.